


Jitters and Time

by egrets20



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Bittersweet, Fluff, Gen, pre therapy nerves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:40:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27273562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/egrets20/pseuds/egrets20
Summary: Donna is finally getting help and is having some jitters beforehand. The Doctor lends her his company.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	Jitters and Time

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: 7 cups of tea (very amateur but with good resources) and betterhelp (professional) are nice websites.

* * *

  
  
The Doctor sat down next to Donna on the sofa.

“I had the TARDIS set an alarm for you in case you didn’t want me reminding you…” He trailed off, watching her for a reaction.

“Thanks,” Donna said, and turned to the next page in her novel.

The Doctor studied her, knowing that she would most likely have trouble sleeping tonight. He knew that he hardly got any rest before something like this. Maybe it would help her to expend some energy. 

“Do you want to do something? Go for a run?” When she gave him a look, he hastily clarified. “I meant in the TARDIS gym or we could go for a swim in the library. I realize you wouldn’t want to go to another planet right now.”

She exhaled heavily and put her book back down. “Maybe we could turn on the telly and just watch trash television for a while.”

While he wouldn’t have particularly liked that activity himself, he was more than willing to join Donna. If it was what she needed, he would provide this small thing. He silently asked the TARDIS to flip on the large movie screen across the room. The TARDIS surfed through the channels for them. One seemed to catch Donna’s interest.

“Oh, I think that’s a travel show. Let’s watch that one.”

The TARDIS played the program of a traveler touring Europe. This episode was about Croatia. Donna seemed to watch with interest as the fellow strolled through alleyways of Gothic Renaissance architecture. They passed by palm trees and scenic waterfalls.

“It looks nice there,” Donna mused.

“We can go there next, if you like,” the Doctor offered. “In fact, you get to pick the next two stops. Depending on what your schedule is, we’ll work the trips around it.”

Donna nodded and swallowed. Her posture was tense.

“Oh, Donna.” He risked winding a concerned arm around her shoulders. She surprised him by burrowing stiffly into his side.

For a moment, they simply sat there and watched the more somber portion of the travel show, showing the wreckage of the buildings in the countryside from the bombing. There were some memorials. What was playing out on the screen caused the Doctor to tense too until they moved on to the next segment.

“I’m glad that you’re getting help,” the Doctor confessed softly.

“Seems a bit silly,” Donna admitted.

The Doctor frowned. “Why is it silly?”

She shook her head and gave a weak shrug. “People are suffering all over the universe and going through much worse things than I did.”

The Doctor looked pensive. “If someone who has experienced slightly more things than you unworthy of help then, if there’s someone out there “worse off?”

Donna swallowed, glancing down.

“Donna.” He nudged her a little.

She arched an eyebrow at him. “If you’re wanting me to congratulate you for being right about this one small thing then you’re going to have to wait a while.”

He smirked slightly. “Just go easy on yourself as you get this all sorted. Give yourself time.”

She hesitated before she nodded. “I’ll try.”

He knew that Donna was going to give this her best shot. The Doctor was also grateful that she knew when to take care of herself and to tell someone when she was uncomfortable.

He offered her his assistance. “And if you need more time, well, I _am_ a _Time_ Lord. I’m sure I can come to some sort of arrangement with the universe.”

She gave a tentative smile. She rested her head on his shoulder. Together, they traveled onwards.

The End.


End file.
